1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to vehicles and it has particular relationship to bicycles with emphasis on mountain bicycles. It is to be understood that, to the extent that the principles of this invention are adapted to other vehicles than bicycles, for example, motorcycles, or even automobiles or trailer couplings, such adaptation is to be regarded as within the scope of equivalents of this invention.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A mountain bicycle is driven over unpaved trails in parks and over hills and mountains. Such trails have obstructions such as rocks and exposed roots of trees. When the steerable wheel of a bicycle, in accordance with the prior art, encounters such an obstruction, it turns or pivots in one direction or the other, causing the bicycle suddenly to head in this direction and turns the handlebars contrary to the guiding force exerted by the rider with the possibility that the bicycle may leave the trail and injure the driver.
It has been realized that to deal with this problem, it is necessary to stabilize or damp the steering movement of the handlebars. Prior art which deals with stabilizing the movement of the handlebars is typified by Motrenec, U.S. Pat. No. 4,736,962, and Gustafsson, U.S. Pat. No. 4,773,514. These patents deal with motorcycles, specifically dirt motorcycles. They do not deal with the problems to which this application is directed. Motrenec does not describe what purpose its steering stabilizer serves and Gustafsson is concerned with wobbling of the front wheel and shock absorption of the back wheel when jumping.
As a bicycle is driven linearly, the driver rocks back and forth laterally in pedalling. This rocking movement has a tendency to turn the steerable wheel and handlebars back and forth laterally, dissipating the energy from the driver particularly when the driver has driven up a grade.
It is an object of this invention to overcome the above-described deficiencies of the prior art and to provide a bicycle which shall not present in use the above-described hazard of leaving a trail, or in case of an ordinary bicycle, a road, on contacting an object in the trail or road in its path.
It is another object of this invention to provide a bicycle in whose operation the dissipation of the energy of the driver by the rocking movement along a linear path shall be materially reduced.